On Tuesday (11 March 2025), the debate on the Manipur budget and the Centre’s supplementary demand for grants turned into an extension of the language controversy in Tamil Nadu with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman accusing DMK of hypocrisy. She also listed out a series of projects where the Centre was assisting Tamil Nadu.
“I do not want to name him, but the moment I read the passages, anyone with a small, faint familiarity with Tamil will know who I’m speaking about. So, when this person speaks about Tamil, much horribly, there’s no objection. On the contrary, they would keep his photo. They will also say he is our Dravidian icon,” she said while quoting the “elderly person” from various Tamil magazines in what was seen as a reference to Periyar, the leader of the Dravidian movement.
Coming to the defence of her colleague, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Sitharaman said he was made to withdraw his remarks just for saying that the protest by DMK members was uncivil. “But a man who repeatedly says Tamil is a barbaric language, they keep his photograph in every room, they garland him and worship him and say he is the icon of Dravidian movement. Look at their hypocrisy,” she said.
Nirmala Sitharam defends the NEP while exposing DMK’s double standards
Speaking in Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said, “New Education Policy actually says learn in your mother tongue till class 5th, if possible till 8th even better till intermediate that’s what NEP says but they (DMK) want to imagine it is imposing Hindi.
“Wrongly they have created political mess in Tamil Nadu denying children their right to learn.” Sitharaman backed Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s Monday’s remark, clarifying that the minister “probably” meant the protest of DMK is “uncivilised.”
Sharing her personal experience in Tamil Nadu, Sitharaman added that “if you learn Hindi and Sanskrit, you are targeted, “All these affection, love and emotion to the Tamil Language, Education Minister spoke the truth about how they were ready to sign the MoU then they changed their mind in the pretext of three language formula ‘not suitable for us but you are imposing Hindi.’ I lived in Tamil Nadu, where if you learn Hindi and Sanskrit, you are targeted. More importantly, they wanted Honourable Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to apologise because he said it is uncivilised. He probably said that in they way you are protesting is uncivilised.”
Nirmala Sitharam lashes out at the very roots of DMK
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a scathing attack on the DMK, accusing them of hypocricy over Tamil language appreciation. She highlighted the inconsistency in their stance, regarding an ‘elderly person’ they admire despite his description of Tamil as a “barbaric” language which cannot even help beggars get alms.
In a fiery speech in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said DMK people idolise a person who spoke “disparagingly” against Tamil language. “I do not want to name him, but the moment I read the passages, anyone with a small, faint familiarity with Tamil will know who I’m speaking about. So when this person speaks about Tamil and much horribly, there’s no objection.
“On the contrary, they would keep his photo. They will also say he is our Dravidian icon,” she said while quoting the “elderly person” from various Tamil magazines. While the BJP leader did not take the name of the “elderly person”, she was apparently referring to Periyar, foremost leader of the Dravidian movement.
Pradhan’s remarks in the Lok Sabha on Monday criticising the Tamil Nadu government for refusing to implement the National Education Policy and doing a “U-turn” on the issue for “politics” drew angry protests from the DMK, disrupting proceedings in the House.
“They are dishonest and they are ruining the future of the students of Tamil Nadu … they are misleading the people,” Pradhan said while replying to a query on the Centre not releasing funds for the PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme.
The ongoing friction over the National Education Policy came to the forefront as Sitharaman accused the DMK of political maneuvering detrimental to Tamil Nadu’s educational future. The policy dispute disrupts parliamentary proceedings, illustrating deeper ideological divides between nationalist and regionalist parties.
Lakhs if not crores of us have learnt in English medium schools, not just mother tongue or state language.
This reasoning for differentiating with English is unnecessarily fixing something that is not broke but rather fraught with risks.
As for Periyar she has misquoted him.
Periyar and even double entendre prone Annadurai are dead since 50 years, the FM talking about them is futile.
Durai Murugan with his sarcasms on Hindi and even Hindi speakers is a far more important matter to be reprimanded.